Introduction to More Exciting Pressure Canning

When people decide to acquire a pressure canner, it is usually so that they can preserve excess garden produce.  But there is so much more that can be done--so much that is quite tasty and will be very desirable in the dark days ahead.  Pressure-canned foods add variety to the diet, especially in a world lacking fresh and frozen foods.

Now, I'm not going to reproduce the Ball Blue Book of Canning (hereafter the BBB) here.  Everyone should have a copy of that for reference for basic guidelines, correct preparation, and accurate processing times.  What I do want to do is explore some ideas for using a canner to prepare some less conventional foods that will save you time and definitely boost morale.

Vegetables

Most vegetables are canned per instructions in the BBB.  There's just not a lot that is exciting or different to add.  And actually, I usually prefer to dehydrate vegetables when possible.  But there are some situations where the dehydrated version just doesn't work as well in recipes.  One of those is dehydrated shredded zucchini.  Don't get me wrong; I do actually dehydrate quite a bit some years.  But when I rehydrate the zucchini for making cakes and breads, it doesn't reconstitute perfectly.  And some baked goods I want to have absolutely perfect.  And of course, I do just put several bags of shredded zucchini in the freezer, but I'm preparing for a time without easy electricity, so every year or so I can a few pints of shredded zucchini.  It gets packed in jars and processed per instructions for squash in the BBB.  And then when we want zucchini bread or cupcakes, we don't have to wait for the dehydrated stuff to rehydrate, nor are we dealing with cupcakes that are a little on the chewy side because the zucchini didn't fully reconstitute.

The other exception around here is potatoes. Yeah, lots of people can potatoes, but we never really cared for the texture, and unless they were being used in a stew, we never seemed to get around to eating them.  However, there is that other more popular way of eating potatoes in this country, the French fry.  Even if the pressure canner was not used for anything else, it would be worthwhile (in this family, at least) to acquire just to be able to have French fries when the grid goes down. These fries are so incredibly divine. Unfortunately, I can’t give you a taste. You’ll just have to trust me. Canning French fries is one of the first articles I posted on this blog; as such, not a lot of people have read it yet. All the work is done in the canning; when you wish to eat some fries (which will be often!), open the jar and put the fries into a strainer. Thoroughly rinse and drain to remove excess starch. Deep fry in peanut oil until they reach a golden brown. If your family is just not into the food storage thing because it's too horrible to contemplate eating that stuff, give these French fries a try.  You'll see a complete one-eighty as they realize food storage can be really good.

Dry Beans
Dry beans aren’t a particularly exciting item to can, unless you get excited about saving money, time, and energy. Dry beans normally take hours to prepare for each meal. By utilizing a pressure canner, you prepare beans for several meals at once, saving money now and time down the road. So how is it done?  Dry beans are truly one of the easiest items to can and a great way to get started with pressure canning.  Basically, you soak the beans for several hours or overnight; rinse, drain, and cook; fill jars about 2/3 full; add boiling water and salt; and process.  It might sound like a lot of work, but it is really quick and easy, and not at all messy.  Complete instructions are here. 

Meats

Canning in the meat world is just like canning in the fruit and vegetable world--follow directions and be careful.  There's nothing scary about it, and preparing meats is a lot faster and easier than preparing produce.  All meats are canned exactly as outlined in the BBB.  However, here are a few ideas for preparing and packaging meats for other uses.  Food fatigue is a real thing, and having a variety of tasty and familiar foods in our menu will be essential to maintaining morale in the coming crisis.

• Beef. I can a good quantity of stew meat to be used as is in stews, but also to be shredded for use as taco filling, French dips, etc. Ground beef also gets browned and canned so that I can make soups and casseroles very quickly. 
• Pork. Some pork is canned in chunks for later use in chili or to be shredded for taquito filling or super quick pulled pork sandwiches. The Cooperative Extension has never tested the safety of canning smoked or cured meats, including bacon.  It may be perfectly safe; it may not be. 
• Bacon.  The Cooperative Extension does not recommend canning bacon for a variety of reasons, all of which are sound. That being said, there are still a lot of people doing it.  I admit to it myself, but now only for bacon ends and pieces, and not the strips that are "dry-canned."  I have posted on bacon in the past, including how people do it and exactly why the Cooperative Extension opposes the practice.  
• Chicken. Home-canned chicken makes for quick chicken salad sandwiches or adding to a summer salad for a main dish meal. And with a can of chicken on hand, it takes no time to get homemade chicken noodle soup ready when someone comes down with a cold.
• Chicken bones. This isn't being recommended as food for people, though apparently in some cultures chicken bones do get thoroughly cooked and mashed or blended in some dishes.  I'm not entirely sold on the safety of this in general, but it does work for making chicken bouillon.  However, chicken bones can be pressure canned, just like chicken meat is, for feeding cats.  After being pressure canned, the hollow bones are easily mashed with a fork and fed to cats. Unfortunately, the chicken bones are too high in protein to be fed to dogs (may cause kidney damage).

Convenience foods

Pressure canning is great for preserving the harvest, but it’s also ideal for making life easier with convenience foods for days when we're just too busy or sick to cook.  A ready supply of stew, chili, and soup provides peace of mind for those situations when they arise.  Each family will have its own favorite recipes, so I'll refrain from posting any here.  Most any recipe can be adapted for canning, one just needs to always remember to process for the time stated for the ingredient that needs the most time and highest pressure.  Read your BBB for specific guidelines here.

A pressure canner is going to cost $100-$300. But the peace of mind that comes from preparing your own food? Priceless.

Links to related posts:
A Few Thoughts on Pressure Canners
Canning French Fries  
Canning Refried Beans  
Canning Hamburger Patties
Canning Bacon 
Canning Chicken
Canning Ham
Canning Pork 

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com  

Expanded Food Storage: French Fries

One of the primary challenges in becoming prepared to deal with future events, and especially in getting family members to join enthusiastically with us in our planning, lies in facing the fear of the unknown, like what are we really going to have to eat, as well as the fear of the known--AACCKKKKK!  YOU DON'T REALLY EXPECT ME TO EAT THAT, DO YOU?!?!

And you know, it's been my observation in the many food storage classes that I've attended, and much of what I've seen online (fortunately, there are some notable exceptions), that most people are going to be really sad when TEOTWAWKI hits.  The vast majority will be sad that they didn't store enough; and many of those that did store enough food calorie-wise will wish they'd put a little more thought into what they were going to be eating.

When the trucks stop rolling, life will definitely change without fresh produce and frozen foods.  But just because doom and gloom are on everyone else's menus, doesn't mean it has to be on yours.  And that's exactly where the focus of the weekly blog post on expanded food storage will be.

Today's star is home-canned potatoes.  The kids actually beg for them.

("How can this be?" you ask.  "Did the woman raise her children in a cave?  Do they only get ice cream at Christmas?"

Truth be told, plain cut up and canned potatoes don't actually send tingles down anyone's spine here.  I like canning and I like having all my jars full all the time, and canned potatoes don't do anything for me, either.  They're kind of a hassle to can because they have to be peeled first, and if you're using them for mashed potatoes, well, the texture just isn't quite right.

But is there anyone in your world that doesn't like French fries?  Probably not.  (But even if there is, great.  That's more fries for everyone else.)

So the first step in winning "Mother of the Year" is to buy a French fry cutter (you can get a cheap one from Amazon for about $13--I think mine lasted 2-3 years, probably 60-80 quarts of fries).  Use the large blade (1/2"); the smaller size fries will break too easily.  Then buy a bag or box of No. 2 Russet potatoes; these are large potatoes, but not the monster size they serve at church dinners.  You need to scrub the potatoes well, but they don't need to be peeled.  (In canning, potatoes that will not be eaten as French fries must be peeled to remove all dirt.  Dirt is where we get botulism spores.  Botulism kills.  However, French fries will be fried at very high temperatures--350-400 degrees--for several minutes, creating conditions to render harmless any botulism toxin that may have developed.)  Cut the potatoes with your French fry cutter.  Follow instructions from your Ball Blue Book (you do have a copy, right?) but reduce the initial boiling time for the potatoes from ten minutes to three minutes.  Drain the potatoes and let cool until you can handle them comfortably.  Carefully stack the potatoes on their sides in a wide mouth quart jar, add one teaspoon salt per jar, and fill to within one inch of the rim of the jar with boiling water.  Process per instructions from your Ball Blue Book  and your pressure canner.

When it's lunchtime, open the jar and shake the fries out into a strainer.  Rinse and drain well to remove any excess starch.  Deep fry in peanut oil at 350-375 degrees until fries are golden brown.  The amount of time this takes is going to vary based on how many fries you put in the fryer and how large your fryer or pan is.  I usually cook 1/2 quart at a time.  (One more tip:  If we're in the middle of TEOTWAWKI and you are having to guess as to whether your oil is hot enough for frying yet, drop a few kernels of popcorn in the oil.  When the temperature hits 350 degrees, the popcorn will pop.)  Salt, eat, and prepare yourself to be showered with praises.

Related posts:
Hamburgers
Hamburger buns
Ketchup
Mayonnaise
Milk shake  
Tomatoes  

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com  04.19.20  11.06.21